


Empire State of Mind

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [19]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2432096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I want The Force…seriously I'm asking for it next Christmas.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Empire State of Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the **Thicker than Water** universe, where most of the BAU are kids and teens. It was written for the alphabet meme and [](http://citymusings.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://citymusings.livejournal.com/)**citymusings** prompt of **G is for guys night out**. The title is from the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys song.

“Oh my God, that was so awesome!” Morgan put his hands on either side of his head. “That scene where the door opens and Vader is just standing there.” He waved his hands wildly. Luckily Hotch had quick reflexes and could get out of the way. “Oh my God, he's just The Man. I want The Force…seriously I'm asking for it for Christmas. That was the coolest movie ever!”

Dave smiled at Derek’s excitement. He’d taken the boys out for a guy’s night out. _The Empire Strikes Back_ was back in theaters and he remembered how much he loved it back in the day. He thought the boys would get a kick out of it. When he called Jason to ask him about it, he said he’d been thinking the same thing.

Never wanting to step on his toes, Dave asked if he could tag along. Jason just laughed and said sure. He refused to let Dave pay for everything. Jason bought the tickets for him, Hotch, Morgan, and Spencer. Dave paid for his own and then concessions. Spencer sat on his lap through the whole film and then he took the boys to Fuddruckers for a late dinner.

“I'm not sure The Force is empirically possible.” Reid said as he munched on tater tots. “Actually…”

“Don’t break my stride, Spencer.” Morgan replied. “Its just like some super duper form of mind over matter. If it’s not possible then how do a whole group of people practice it?”

“Jedi aren't…”

“Spencer,” Jason cut him off. “Just because things can't be proven with science doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You know that.”

“Thank you.” Morgan pointed at Jason and nodded. “If I could have a super power, I’d want The Force. That would be awesome. What about you, Hotch?”

“Um…I like those red beam eyes like Cyclops or even better, Zod in _Superman 2_. But I’d probably just fly.”

“Yeah, that’s cool.” Morgan nodded. “Gideon?”

“I want to say telekinesis but superhuman strength sounds cooler.”

“Teleki-what now?” Morgan asked.

“It’s basically The Force. I would be able to move things with my mind.” Jason replied.

“And what's it called?”

“Telekinesis. It’s actually a real phenomenon. There are those who believe they’ve proven it and those who will never believe.”

“Like Reid…Mr. Skeptical.”

“Shut up Morgan.”

“Hey now,” Jason said. “We don’t tell each other to shut up.”

“Sorry.” Spencer mumbled.

Jason rustled his hair and brought a smile to his little face.

“Do I get to pick a superpower?” he asked quietly.

“Sure.” Morgan smiled. Spencer was kinda obnoxious sometimes but he was just a kid. He was also a genius who, for as much sci-fi and fantasy he read, had little to no imagination. It was Derek’s job as big brother to make him feel normal, not pick on him. At least he couldn't pick on him too much.

“I want to run fast like The Flash.” Spencer’s grin was wide. “I’d move like a blur.”

“That’s a good one.” Jason replied.

“What about you, Uncle Dave?” Derek asked. “I mean you're already pretty badass, oops, I mean,” he covered his mouth. “You're super cool. But if you could have any superpower, what would it be?”

“I’d be like Wolverine in the _X-Men_.” Dave said. “I probably wouldn’t adopt his prickly attitude though.”

“Wolverine is angry because he was created in a lab.” Hotch replied. “He wasn’t born a mutant…someone made him that way.”

“Wolverine is awesome!” Morgan grinned. “I wish I could get some superpowers. Girls would be all about that.”

“For sure.” Hotch nodded. “I think my favorite part of the movie was the epic battle between Luke and Darth Vader. I've seen it a million times on video but on the big screen…whoa.”

“Lucky we were sitting in the fifth row.” Dave replied with a smirk.

The movie was both loud and flashy on the big screen. It definitely left him slightly queasy and more than a little deaf. Still, he had a really great time with the boys tonight.

“I liked Yoda.” Spencer chirped. “I liked the use of ancient Buddhist rituals and Aristotelian philosophy in applying The Force. I loved the swamp where he lived.”

“Dagobah!” Jason and Derek exclaimed at the same time. “Jinx!”

“Gimme a fry; I won.” Morgan reached over to Jason’s plate. “I have to say I'm torn on the coolness quotient between Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian. Being a bounty hunter is awesome. How many girls do you think I could get doing that?”

“Han Solo gets all the babes.” Hotch replied.

“No way man; he's too wrapped up in Princess Leia.” Morgan made a face. “I mean she was cute but it’s a vast galaxy…lots of pretty girls.”

“Derek, what do you think about besides girls?” Dave asked, sipping his milkshake.

“Football. Food. Ninjas. Oh, sometimes I imagine I'm a WWII British spy infiltrating the Axis powers and bringing down the Third Reich. Hotch is always my wingman. I think about all the cool books I read…I could be Hawk. I could be Alex Cross or that dude who caught Ted Bundy. He was cool. Other than that…it’s mostly girls.”

“You're my wingman.” Hotch said. “Not the other way around.”

“Keep dreaming, bud.”

“That spy adventure sounds cool.” Dave replied.

“I think about it mostly when I'm zoning out in pre-algebra class. And I probably shouldn’t have said that in front of Gideon.”

“Yeah, probably not.” Jason agreed with a smile.

“Have you ever thought about writing the story?” Dave asked.

“JJ’s the family writer.” Derek replied. “And she’s good too. Her stuff can be dark and she's not a big fan of happy endings, but I still dig it.”

“I didn't know she was letting anyone read her stuff.” Jason said.

“She gave me her first story right after New Year’s. I can't figure out if she values my opinion or doesn’t give a hang what I think.”

“I'm sure it’s the former, Derek.” Dave said.

“One thing you have to know about JJ…you just never know. Whichever it is, I like her stuff.”

They started wrapping up dinner. It had been an awesome night out but the time was coming to go home to the rest of the family.

***

_Mama pajama rolled out of bed_  
 _And she ran to the police station_  
 _When papa found out he began to shout_  
 _And they started the investigation_  
 _It’s against the law_  
 _It was against the law_  
 _What mama saw, it was against the law_

Dave smiled as he drove back into DC from Alexandria where they went to the movies and dinner. It was a cold night but March had thus far been relatively pleasant. He was even able to crack his window just a bit to let some fresh air in. Jason, who was sitting up front with him, didn’t complain. He was too busy singing Paul Simon with his brothers.

And they were definitely brothers. Dave couldn’t help but recall fond memories of the Rossi boys singing in Dad’s Chevy. They frequently talked about girls, movies, and anything else they could come up with while consuming greasy burgers and fountain soda. Life could be tough in Commack but the Rossi boys had each other. These boys were exactly the same.

Elton John followed Paul Simon, then the Rolling Stones and the Bee Gees. Hotch doing Barry Gibb's falsetto while Jason and Derek harmonized had Dave concentrating hard on the road. He didn’t want to crash from laughing. They all bowed out gracefully on Fleetwood Mac.

“Girl music.” Morgan said in a sneeze.

Hotch laughed, playfully punching his arm.

“Hey Uncle Dave, did you know Eric Clapton actually had a song called _Cocaine_?” Morgan asked.

“I did know that.”

“The 70s were pretty sweet. Were you seeing lots of girls then?”

“I don’t wanna brag but…my dance card was always full.”

“Your what?” Reid asked.

The boys laughed and Dave laughed with them. Teenage boys were special; could make you feel totally cool and uncool all in the same breath.

“Can we turn this up?” Hotch asked as Stealers Wheel came out of the speakers.

“Aww yeah.” Morgan nodded.

Dave hit the volume and the singing started again.

_Well I don’t know why I came here tonight_   
_I got the feeling that something ain't right_   
_I'm so scared in case I fall out my chair_   
_And I'm wondering how I get down the stairs_   
_Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right_   
_Here I am stuck in the middle with you_

They were almost home but Dave knew this was a song you had to sing through to the end. It was like a jinx if you didn’t. Tonight there would be no jinxes. The good times were too busy rolling for that.

***

  



End file.
